Lateral Ankle Sprain: Reducing Swelling and Bruising using Kinesiotape

About a week ago, my wife was at work and turned in such a way that she ended up rolling her ankle pretty badly.  She has had a history of rolling the same ankle to the point that if you even look at it funny, it will roll, and she would probably agree that I am not exaggerating.  She had decide that it was best not to take her shoe off until she got home and was given an ice pack about the size of a smurf to put on it in the meantime.  Being a Chiropractor and the loving husband that I am, I took a look at her ankle and saw that the area around her lateral malleolus (the bony bump on the side of your ankle) was about 2-3 times bigger compared to the other ankle.  It really looked as if she had a golf ball in her ankle.  I had her ice it with a proper sized ice pack for 20 mins at a time and had her stay off it as much as possible.  The swelling did go down a bit but not a whole lot, so I had mentioned that there was a Kinesiotape application that I could do that would help reduce the swelling and brusing that was still there. 

Lateral View

Now, I should mention that when I first met my wife, she was a little unsure about chiropractic and did not know much about it.  Five years later, she knows when something doesn't feel right and has me adjust her, including her neck, so she trusts me enough to try the Kinesiotape on her ankle (been also doing Acupuncutre on her, too).  Since I am new to kinesiotaping and have not had a whole lot of practice with it since the seminar I took in July, I knew how to cut and apply the tape, but had to refer to a manual as for the placement of the tape for a lateral ankle sprain.  It's hard to tell in the pictures how bad the swelling was and I didn't think about taking a before picture until after I had finished taping.  Normally, Kinesiotape can stay on for 3-5 days even with washing, but where I had put the ends, some of them starting peeling off when she wore shoes.  So I ended up re-taping within about 24 hours.  After a total of 48 hours with the tap and a few icings, the tape was removed to assess how her ankle was doing.  The swelling had reduced by about 3/4 and what little bruising there was had shifted some in between the lattice of tape and some settled underneath the malleolus.  This is what her ankle looked like after 48 hours with the Kinesiotape:

For more information on Kinesiotaping, you can head over to www.easterkansaschiro.com and follow the links on the Kinesiotaping page under Services. 





Chiropratic and Sport Injuries

We all know that exercise is an essential part of our overall health and well-being.  However, sports injuries can occur whether you are an avid athlete and compete/train on a reagular basis, or you are just starting up a new sport or exercise regimen.  In most cases, they can be prevented but there are few instances where an injury can occur even though you took the recommended precautions (i.e. proper technique, proper use of safety equipment that is fitted appropriately, and proper conitioning, warm-up and cool down procedures) and are in the best shape of your life.  The most common ones are Strain/sprains, tendinosis, and stress fractures. 

Strain/Sprain
Usually if there is a sports injury, it most commony involves a tear in the muscles, tendons, and ligaments.  The difference between a "strain" and a "sprain" depends upon the structure that is injured:  Strains involve muscles and tendons while sprains invovle ligaments.  The severity of the tear ranges from mild to severe.  Mild strain/sprains mean that the injury is stable with only some fibers being torn or stretched.  This grade can be easily managed conservatively with rest, ice, compression, and elevation.  A chiropractor can help out with this treatement and can start manipulating the joint once the initial inflammation has gone and the patient can tolerate it.  Some chiropractors can also do acupuncture around the sight to help easae the pain and kinesiotaping to help bring down any swelling and to help support the muscles with rehab to keep them functioning thw way they should.  Severe strain/sprains, however, means that the tear goes through, or sometimes, all of the structure, making the injury unstable.  These typically would need surgical intervention, but acupuncture can help with pre- and post-op support. 

Tendinosis
Also called Tendonitis, this injury is a commonly due to overuse or repetitive motion causing inflammation of the tendon.  The most common types are golf and tennis elbow, but can occur in any joint, especially the shoulder and knee.  Pain and swelling occurs over the tendon and get worse when motions that stress the tendon are performed.  As with sprains and strains, rest, ice, compression, and elevation is the way to treat with a combination ofchiropractic adjustments after the inflammation and swelling are gone to restore normal ROM, kinesiotaping for muscle support and re-education if needed, and acupuncture to help with pain managment and healing support. 

Stress Fractures 
Also called Fatigue fracture, this injury usually is seen with runners that unknowingly are putting an abnormal amount of stress on normal bone.  This can happen if the running distance is increased too fast or if those who aren't used to running long distances overdo it.  Shin splints also falls into this category since it is an overuse injury caused by microfractures on the front side of the shin bone.  Pain and swelling increases gradually and can get worse with activity.  Rest, ice, compression, and elevation are probably the best treatment as it will tak a little time for the bone to heal.  Acupuncture can help relieve some of the pain and support healing.

Back to School Backpack Safety

This subject is a pretty popular one around this time of year as Summer vacation winds down and kids from pre-school on up to college start prepearing for the upcoming school year.  Most of them may be purchasing a new backpack or cleaning out last year's that has sat in one spot for the past three months.  In any case, a backpack could be a potential source of back and neck pain with or without headaches, which are seen a lot, generally, in chiropractic offices. 

How is this possible?  A lot of it has to do with how the backpack is worn and how much weight is in it.  A lot of people tend to wear a backpack with only one strap over a shoulder bacuase it is more convenient or looks better.  The problem with this is that all the weight of the pack is situated to one side of the body, putting strain on the other side from leaning to compensate.  Over a short period of time, this can lead to lower and upper back pain along with pain in the shoulders and the neck.  If not addressed sooner, it can increase the rate of the development of chronic back problems later in life.  As for the weight, the amount that kids are carrying now seems to have increased since I was in school.  Even then, I felt like I was carrying a lot (I still seem to be now).  The recommendation for the amount of weight in a backpack is about 10-15% of the child's body weight.  Anymore than this can start to put stress on the child's body and posture as he/she compensates by bending forward at the waist or hips and arching the back into more of a slumped position.  Back muscles wil be stressed along with the spine since it is now being compressed in an unnatural position.   

The best way to pick up and wear a backpack is using both shoulder straps (which should be fairly wide and padded so they don't dig into the shoulders), positioned evenly in the middle of the back and not sagging down to the buttocks.  The weight should be distributed so the heaviest items are positined closer to the mid-portion of the body.  When purchasing a new backpack, buying one with a waist belt can help distribute the weight more evenly and extra padding on the back can provide more comfort and protection from objects inside trying to poke out.  Messenger bags or bags that are carried on the shoulder or accross the chest are a nice alternative to backpacks, but they can have a similar effect on the body as carrying a backpack with one strap over one shoulder.

Once school starts, parents should also encourage their kids to use their desk or locker more often in order to keep the backpack's weight on the lighter side throughout the day.  Also, less is better; have them leave behind, either at home or in the desk/locker, anything that is unnecessary such as cell phones, laptops, etc.  It is recommended, too, that they should only bring home what is needed for homework and studying each night, unless they are being slammed with assignements, tests, or are just plain procrastinating.

Lastly, regular visits to your local chiropractor can also be beneficial in prevention or treatment of back/neck/shoulder pain and/or headaches associated with backpack use or any other cause.